Ashes | Twitter calls out "umpiring double standards Jamie Smith succumbs to controversial call

Yesterday at 1:44 PM

Gone are the days where umpire could make incorrect decisions and simply make everyone live with it, cognizant of the fact that it would blow over soon enough without much scrutiny. No wonder then that the inevitable Ashes controversy arrived as early as Perth courtesy of Jamie Smith's dismissal.

Jamie Smith had no option but to walk off after being ruled out upon review on Day 2 of the Ashes opener in Perth

England endured a tragic collapse in the second innings of the first Ashes Test at Perth Stadium on Sunday as they tumbled from 65/1 to 88/6 within half an hour to hand Australia the ascendancy. However, in Jamie Smith the visitors still had a recognized batter at the crease, the wicket-keeper batter having shown in the past his ability to wag alongside the tail and help accumulate invaluable runs low down the order. The youngster walked out with intent and after getting his eye in quickly got to the scoring part with a boundary off the high-flying Mitchell Starc. Smith seemed determined to subject debutant Brendan Dogett to the same treatment but as luck would have it, it was the South Australian who had the last laugh.

Dogggett began the 27th over with a sharp bumper but got his line wrong as it rose past the silhouette of Smith. The batter's eyes lit-up as he sensed a scoring opportunity and threw his hands bat it but failed to connect as the ball travelled safely to the keeper Alex Carey. However, Travis Head at short-leg was convinced the ball had taken some part of the willow as he insisted he heard a noise, a theory Doggett and Carey also seemed to have. Steve Smith obliged the lot by going upstairs for a review and the first replays revealed nothing conclusive. The umpire moved on to snicko meter which then revealed a slight spike, that too after the Kookaburra had already passed the bat with what seemed to be daylight between the two. An extended check followed but the conclusion remained foggy at best, which would usually lead to the on-field call staying. Yet, to the surprise of many, the third-umpire ruled he had enough to dispatch Jamie back to the dugout, much to the English's chagrn and Perth'sjoy.

Twitterati was quick to point out a similar incident had taken place when Australia were batting, where Marnus Labuschagne was given not-out in a similar circumstance.

WOW

Jamie Smith started to walk before coming back after this hotly discussed moment. So what's your call here? | |
— cricket.com.au (@cricketcomau)

Interesting

— nathan (@naltathan)

LOL

BREAKING: The PGMOL have just offered a job to the third umpire.
— Paddy Power (@paddypower)

WTH?

Why the fuck did Smith walk why are these players MORONS
— ⛷️ (@stokaljona)

Yup

Ultra Edge gives clean synced spikes with multi mic accuracy. Snicko gives a spike for anything that makes a sound.

While every other board moved to Ultra Edge, CA is still rolling with Snicko 🤦.
— Ragav 𝕏 (@ragav_x)

Long one

In what must have been a record-long DRS review, Jamie Smith was given out after a not-out call on the field for caught behind.

A small blip on snicko, that didn't quite align with the frame of the ball passing the bat... the ball may have deviated though... England fans won't…
— ABC SPORT (@abcsport)

Easy

A really easy solution for the Smith decision is for Australia to stop using a review system thats ALWAYS A FUCKING FRAME OUT
— No Context County Cricket (@NoContextCounty)

Drama

A big drama between Australia vs England at Perth.

- On field Umpire Nitin Menon given out to Jamie Smith.

- Steve Smith going to review & 3rd Umpire Sharfuddoula given out.

- Captain Ben Stokes & Harry Brook unhappy with this decision.

— MANU. (@IMManu_18)

Classic

A big drama between Australia vs England at Perth.

- On field Umpire Nitin Menon given out to Jamie Smith.

- Steve Smith going to review & 3rd Umpire Sharfuddoula given out.
— MANU. (@IMManu_18)

Forever